Senior Engineer - AI Workflows

Senior Engineer · Senior · Full Time · Remote

CAN: British Columbia Remote · RemoteCAD 180k – 210k1mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

Senior Engineer specializing in AI workflows at Xero's Internal AI Accelerator Squad, focused on designing and operationalizing agentic AI systems that automate complex enterprise workflows. You will embed within business teams to co-design intelligent automation solutions using large language models and enterprise integrations, establishing patterns and guardrails for AI-native operations across the global organization. This role requires production-grade experience with AI systems, cloud infrastructure, and the ability to translate business pain points into scalable technical solutions.

Responsibilities

  • Design and Iterate on Agentic AI Systems: Lead the architectural design and continuous iteration of AI agents and workflow orchestrations leveraging advanced language models like Claude and Gemini, employing sophisticated prompt engineering and model configuration strategies to optimize agent behavior and reliability in production environments.
  • Enterprise Platform Integration: Architect and implement robust integrations between AI systems and core enterprise applications including Salesforce, Workday, Slack, and NetSuite, ensuring seamless data flow, security compliance, and maintaining system reliability across distributed infrastructure.
  • Build Reusable Automation Patterns: Develop and document standardized automation patterns, shared templates, and best-practice frameworks that empower non-technical and technical stakeholders across the business to deploy AI-driven solutions independently, democratizing access to intelligent automation capabilities.
  • Establish Evaluation and Monitoring Frameworks: Design comprehensive evaluation metrics, monitoring dashboards, and performance tracking systems for AI workflows, implementing safety guardrails and blast radius controls to ensure reliability, auditability, and controlled degradation in production AI-native systems.
  • Technical Leadership and Coaching: Act as a technical mentor and evangelist within business teams, elevating AI fluency across the organization through collaborative pairing sessions, technical workshops, clear documentation, and hands-on guidance on AI-driven solution design patterns.
  • Forward-Deployed Problem Solving: Embed directly within various internal business teams to understand complex workflows, co-design solutions that remove manual toil, and drive end-to-end operationalization from discovery phase through production deployment, serving as a strategic technical partner.

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Production Application Development

    Demonstrated expertise building and operating production applications or automation systems, particularly with hands-on experience managing APIs, webhooks, cloud infrastructure, and designing systems for scale and reliability.

  • Large Language Model Systems

    Proven experience delivering AI-driven solutions in production, including building agents, copilots, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems, or other LLM applications using platforms like Claude, Gemini, or equivalent enterprise AI models.

  • Programming Languages

    Proficiency in Python or TypeScript with demonstrated ability to write clean, maintainable code, work with SDKs, manage asynchronous operations, and develop microservices or serverless architectures for AI workloads.

  • Enterprise Integration Architecture

    Experience integrating with enterprise platforms (CRM, ERP, HCM, communication tools), designing secure data pipelines, managing authentication flows, and ensuring compliance with enterprise security and auditing requirements.

  • Systems Design and Security

    Strong systems-thinking approach with capability to design AI systems emphasizing security, auditability, proper access controls, and controlled blast radius patterns to mitigate risks in autonomous agent deployments.

Education

  • Computer Science or Related Field

    Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent professional experience demonstrating core computer science fundamentals and software development expertise.

  • Continuous Learning in AI/ML

    Commitment to ongoing professional development in AI and machine learning, evidenced through courses, certifications, or self-directed learning in LLMs, prompt engineering, and AI systems design.

Experience

  • AI-Driven Solutions Delivery

    Track record of shipping AI-driven products or features from concept through production, including experience with prompt engineering, model selection, and implementing evaluation frameworks to measure AI system performance.

  • Stakeholder Partnership

    Demonstrated success partnering with non-technical stakeholders, translating business requirements and pain points into elegant technical solution designs, and communicating complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.

  • Cloud Infrastructure Operations

    Hands-on experience deploying and maintaining applications on cloud platforms, managing infrastructure as code, implementing monitoring and logging solutions, and optimizing for performance and cost efficiency.

  • Technical Mentorship

    Track record of uplifting team capabilities through technical leadership, mentoring junior engineers, and driving adoption of new technologies or architectural patterns across teams.

Skills

Required

  • Python

    Production-grade Python development for backend services, data processing, and AI system integration with proficiency in async programming and SDK usage.

  • TypeScript

    Full-stack TypeScript development including type-safe API integrations, serverless functions, and real-time workflow orchestration in Node.js environments.

  • Large Language Models (Claude/Gemini)

    Hands-on experience with Claude or Gemini APIs, prompt engineering, model selection, and building production systems that leverage LLM capabilities for automation and intelligence.

  • API Design and Integration

    Expertise in designing RESTful and webhook-based integrations, managing authentication schemes (OAuth, API keys), error handling, and building robust data synchronization between systems.

  • Cloud Infrastructure

    Proficiency with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) for deploying AI workloads, managing databases, implementing monitoring, and designing scalable architectures.

  • Agentic AI Workflows

    Experience designing and implementing autonomous AI agents with state management, tool integration, decision logic, and monitoring capabilities for enterprise use cases.

Preferred

  • Model Context Protocol (MCP)

    Nice to have

    Familiarity with Model Context Protocol for standardizing AI system integrations and enabling flexible tool composition across different LLM platforms and applications.

  • Anthropic Claude Ecosystem

    Nice to have

    Deep knowledge of Claude models, function calling, vision capabilities, and extended context windows for building sophisticated AI applications.

  • Salesforce/Workday Integration

    Nice to have

    Prior experience integrating with major enterprise platforms like Salesforce or Workday, understanding their data models and API constraints.

  • Slack Bot Development

    Nice to have

    Experience building conversational interfaces and workflow automation through Slack apps, bolt frameworks, and interactive components.

  • RAG Systems

    Nice to have

    Experience implementing retrieval-augmented generation systems including vector databases, embedding models, and knowledge base construction for AI applications.

  • System Observability

    Nice to have

    Proficiency implementing monitoring, logging, tracing, and alerting for complex distributed systems, including AI-specific metrics like inference latency and token utilization.

  • Workflow Orchestration

    Nice to have

    Experience with tools like Temporal, Airflow, or similar workflow orchestration platforms for managing complex multi-step automation sequences.

  • Agile Development Practices

    Nice to have

    Experience in rapid iteration cycles, rapid prototyping, and experimental development methodologies aligned with high-velocity team environments.

Tech stack

Languages

PythonTypeScript

Frameworks

Claude APIGoogle Gemini APILangchain/LlamaIndexBolt for Python/JavaScript

Databases

Vector Databases (Pinecone/Weaviate)PostgreSQLDynamoDB/Firestore

Tools

Model Context Protocol (MCP)Salesforce APIWorkday APISlack APINetSuite APIDocker/KubernetesAWS/GCP ServicesGitHub/Version Control

Other

Prompt EngineeringAI System EvaluationSecurity and ComplianceWebhook ManagementAgentic AI Design Patterns

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·CAD 180,000 – 210,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Comprehensive Medical Coverage

    Medical, dental, and vision insurance providing comprehensive healthcare coverage for you and your family, with competitive plan options and managed care networks.

  • Retirement Planning

    401(k) matching program enabling tax-advantaged retirement savings with employer contribution matching to accelerate your long-term financial security.

  • Generous Time Off

    21 days of paid time off annually plus wellbeing leave, volunteer leave, and paid parental leave supporting work-life balance and personal growth.

  • Equity Participation

    Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) programs and performance-based equity incentives allowing you to share in Xero's success and build long-term wealth.

  • Flexible Work Arrangements

    Hybrid work model with autonomy to work from home complemented by regular boost days in modern office spaces designed for collaboration and team connection.

  • Professional Development

    Access to learning resources, technical conferences, and continuous education opportunities supporting career growth in emerging AI and cloud technologies.

  • Wellbeing Programs

    Comprehensive wellbeing initiatives supporting physical, mental, and financial health including employee assistance programs and wellness resources.

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Screening

    Conversation with recruiter to discuss your background, AI experience, and alignment with the Internal AI Accelerator Squad's mission of rapid experimentation and agentic AI implementation.

  2. 02

    Technical Discussion

    Deep dive with senior engineers on your production experience with AI systems, large language models, and enterprise integrations. Expect discussion of architectural decisions, system design tradeoffs, and real-world challenges you've solved.

  3. 03

    System Design Assessment

    Design exercise focused on architecting an agentic AI workflow that integrates with enterprise platforms. You'll walk through your approach to security, auditability, monitoring, and failure handling in production systems.

  4. 04

    Coding Exercise

    Practical coding assessment in Python or TypeScript demonstrating your ability to build AI integrations, handle API interactions, and write production-quality code with proper error handling and testing.

  5. 05

    Stakeholder Alignment Interview

    Conversation with business stakeholders and product owners to assess your ability to translate business pain points into elegant technical solutions and your communication style with non-technical partners.

  6. 06

    Senior Leadership Discussion

    Final conversation with leadership to discuss your vision for democratizing AI across the organization, your mentorship philosophy, and how you'd contribute to Xero's transformation into an AI-native company.

Full posting

Original listing.

The role / impact

As a Senior Engineer within the Internal AI Accelerator Squad, you will be at the forefront of Xero’s transformation into an AI-native company. You will act as a forward-deployed engineer, embedding yourself within various internal business teams to co-design and operationalise agentic AI workflows that remove manual toil and fundamentally reshape how our people work end-to-end.

Your impact extends beyond the code; you will lead the delivery of high-stakes AI agents from discovery to production, while acting as a technical partner and evangelist. By defining the patterns, guardrails, and tooling for intelligent automation, you will create the blueprint that enables the rest of Xero to harness the power of AI safely and effectively.

The team / how they connect

You will join a dedicated, high-velocity squad focused on boosting the adoption of agentic AI and intelligent automation across the global business. The team connects through a shared mission of rapid experimentation and "vibe-coding," working closely with product owners and SMEs to turn complex, messy workflows into elegant, automated solutions.

The team is currently working on / Initially, you will focus on

  • Designing and iterating on AI agents and workflow orchestrations using tools like Claude, Gemini, and MCP.

  • Integrating AI systems with core enterprise platforms including Salesforce, Workday, Slack, and NetSuite.

  • Developing reusable automation patterns and shared templates to be used by the business

  • Building evaluation and monitoring frameworks to measure performance and ensure the safety of AI-native workflows.

Where and how you can work

At Xero, we embrace a hybrid way of working that prioritises both flexibility and meaningful connection. You will have the autonomy to work from home, supported by regular boost days in our modern office spaces designed to foster collaboration, brainstorming, and team bonding.

Here are some of the things we are looking for

  • You bring a wealth of experience in building and operating applications or automations within production environments, particularly involving APIs and cloud infrastructure.

  • Your background includes hands-on delivery of AI-driven solutions such as agents, copilots, or RAG systems using LLMs like Claude or Gemini.

  • You possess proficiency in programming languages such as Python or TypeScript and feel comfortable navigating SDKs and webhooks.

  • A systems-thinking approach is part of your toolkit, allowing you to design agents with security, auditability, and controlled blast radius at the forefront.

  • You have a track record of partnering with non-technical stakeholders to translate business pain points into technical solution designs.

  • You are a natural coach who enjoys uplifting the AI fluency of those around you through pairing, workshops, and clear communication.

Compensation & Total Rewards

At Xero, we value the impact and skills you bring to the team. We don’t just hire for a role, we invest in people. We believe in a Total Package philosophy which means your value isn't just a single number on a paycheck. While base salary is a core component, we look at your compensation through a holistic lens that includes equity, performance incentives, and world-class benefits.

The expected base salary range for this role in:

  • CAD $180K – CAD $210K

  • Plus bonus and equity

Individual pay is determined by various factors, including geography, level of experience, and the specific skills you bring to the role.

In addition to base pay, Xero’s roles are eligible for the following forms of variable compensation:

  • Variable Pay: Permanent employees are eligible to participate in our equity (RSU) programs. You may also be eligible for performance-based cash or equity (RSUs) incentives depending on your role level, and company performance.

  • Comprehensive Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401(k) match, and 21 days PTO. Xero also provides eligible employees with Wellbeing leave, volunteer leave, holidays, paid parental leave. Further information included on our Xero Perks page.

Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team.

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